Xinjiang officials backed and took part in terror acts but security crackdown to go on: discipline official

Some officials in China’s far western Xinjiang have been found supporting terrorist activities in the region but the authorities’ anti-terror crackdown is still going strong, a government official says.

PUBLISHED : Sunday, 24 January, 2016, 11:34pm
UPDATED : Sunday, 24 January, 2016, 11:34pm

Some officials in China’s far western Xinjiang have been found supporting terrorist activities in the region but the authorities’ anti-terror crackdown is still going strong, a government official says.

“Most of the party members in Xinjiang are determined and clear minded,” Xu Hairong, secretary of Xinjiang’s Commission for Discipline Inspection, said.

“However, there are party members who are being ‘double-faced’ on issues of anti-separation, anti-infiltration and anti-terrorism. Some officials have even supported, participated in and organised terror acts.”

Xu’s comments were published on Sunday in a newspaper affiliated with the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

He did not elaborate but said only that the battle against terrorism was a long-term mission, adding that measures would be taken against officials who were not serious about fighting the threat.

Xinjiang last year tackled 672 cases of political discipline violations, Xu said.

On Friday, security authorities warned of rising risks of terrorist attacks on the mainland.

Although serious violent crime had dropped 12.5 per cent nationwide last year, the risks of terror attacks should still be highlighted, stated a document released at the central conference on political and legal work.

According to the document, to better counter terrorism, police will promote the use of contactless detection devices for explosives as well as dynamic face and voice recognition systems.

China’s anti-terrorism law took effect on January 1. The law requires the setting up of a state-level leading group on counterterrorism.

Hundreds of Han Chinese and Uygurs have died in Xinjiang in recent years in unrest that the government has blamed on Islamist militants in the region.

Rights groups and exiles say controls on the religion and culture of the Turkic-speaking Muslim minority are to blame for the violence. Beijing denies any repression in the region.